Man living with dead mum in flat he’d not left for eight years

A man, 43, was arrested after police found his long-dead mum in a room – sealed with insulating tape to mask the smell – at the home he hadn’t stepped out of in years

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A man has been arrested after he was caught living with his dead mum in a flat he claimed he hadn’t left for at least eight years.

Police held the 43-year-old in his apartment^[1], that he shared with his mother, after they discovered the OAP^[2] lying lifeless on her bed, with her radio still on and a fan beside her still going. The dead woman’s son, named locally only as Javier S, reportedly admitted to cops^[3] that he had sealed the door of 80-year-old Antonia’s bedroom with insulating tape to mask the bad smell from her rotting body.

The son also claimed he had survived on a diet of biscuits, rice and chickpeas – which his mum bought before she died – since she passed away a month ago.

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The horror discovery was made inside their flat in Majorca, Spain^[6]. Neighbours at the flat in the Palma neighbourhood of Santa Catalina^[7] said they hadn’t seen Javier leave the property for around 13 years.

He is said to have told investigators he hadn’t stepped outside for eight years and relied on his mum to do all their food shopping and run other errands.

Police made the grim discovery after a neighbour rang them to say she hadn’t seen Antonia for several weeks. The pensioner is thought to have died from natural causes, but investigators are still awaiting the results of a full post-mortem.

Javier, who said he had nothing to do with his mum’s death, appeared in court in Palma yesterday and was bailed pending an ongoing probe.

He was told to sign on at the court every fortnight, although sources close to the case admitted today they were unsure he would comply with his bail conditions, given that he voluntarily imprisoned himself in his flat for so many years.

One neighbour, speaking to local newspaper Diario de Mallorca, said: “It’s been around 13 years since I’ve seen Javier leave the flat. He was completely dependent on his mum who was a very active person, to the extent that he didn’t leave home ever even to go out shopping.

“Mentally she was in great shape and she didn’t have any problems at all climbing the stairs to get up to their apartment.”

Javier reportedly admitted to the judge^[8], in a behind-closed-doors hearing yesterday, that he hadn’t left his apartment block in eight years and had survived on the food he found indoors after his mum died.

The son reportedly insisted she died of natural causes. The judge is expected to review his bail decision after the full results of the autopsy are back.